In Changsha, the trip included Wuyi Square, Du Fu Pavilion, Aiwan Pavilion on Yuelu Mountain, and Orange Isle. Wuyi Square was lively at night, though by 3 a.m. most shops were closed and the streets were quiet. Du Fu Pavilion was great for photos once lit up, while Orange Isle was best admired from across the river. The food made mixed impressions: Cha Yan Yue Se was good but not worth a special trip; Hunan-style crayfish fell short of the Sichuan and Chongqing versions, while stir-fried pork with chili peppers stood out. The Hunan dishes at Laoxujia Fish Market were light and fresh, showing another side of Hunan cuisine. The pickled cabbage and pork intestines were unremarkable.
Changsha
Wuyi Square & Taiping Old Street
Every visitor to Changsha ends up at Wuyi Square. It's not exactly new, but it's genuinely lively — once night falls and the neon signboards light up, it feels like a city that never sleeps.
I'd certainly heard that Changsha is a city that never sleeps, still bustling even at 3 AM. So I planned to head out at 3, take a stroll, and grab a bite while I was at it — only to be totally let down 😤. Most shops were closed, there weren't many people around, and even the street vendors were calling it a night, with most of their goods already sold out.
Du Fu Pavilion
With its lights on at night, the Du Fu Pavilion really does look good no matter how you shoot it.
Yuelu Mountain & Aiwan Pavilion
"I stop my carriage and sit, loving the maple grove at dusk" — Aiwan Pavilion takes its name from this line. It sits at the foot of Yuelu Mountain, and we hiked up from Yuelu Academy to see it for ourselves.
Orange Isle
There were way too many people taking check-in photos there, so we chose to admire it from across the river instead. The view was quite nice.
What We Ate
Chayan Yuese
Chayan Yuese is genuinely good — for a drink, it really does have this wonderful fragrance of tea leaves. But you really don't need to come all the way to Changsha just for it; CHAGEE offers a similar experience.
In Changsha, different stores offer different drinks, which not only boosts each location's sales but also makes customers feel that Chayan Yuese always has something new to try.
Xia Xiaolong
Changsha's spicy crayfish — personally, I don't think they're as good as the mala crayfish of Sichuan and Chongqing (if you get the chance, try Qianjiang's). But Changsha's stir-fried pork with chili peppers is genuinely top-notch; maybe this is what authentic Zhangshugang peppers really taste like.
Old Xu's Fish Market
Rumor has it this is the kind of restaurant only locals go to. True enough — even at peak meal times, the queue wasn't nearly as scary as the ones outside those Wuyi Square places. The food was quite different from what I'd imagined Hunan cuisine to be: very light, with much more focus on the natural freshness of the ingredients. I guess I got to see another side of Hunan cuisine.
Juxinpeng: Pickled Cabbage & Pork Intestines
The pickled cabbage and the pork intestines are served separately: you start by eating some of the intestines and the meat pulled off the bone, then toss the cabbage into the pot and stir-fry everything together.
I'm fond of pork intestines to begin with, but even as an out-of-towner, I didn't find it all that impressive.